Taken
by zapid
Summary: Yugi and Yami are happily together, when Bakura returns wanting revenge on Yami for sending him to the shadow realm. Realizing their relationship, Bakura captures Yugi.
1. The Eye of The Hurricane

Title: Taken (1/?)

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or anything associated with it. Even though I'd like to own a couple of the characters...I don't. I'm not making any money off of this, and no copyright infringement is intended. This is strictly for entertainment purposes.

Warning: Slash. Yes, you heard me right, slash. Don't like? Don't read. Just in case you don't know, slash means romantic relationships between members of the SAME GENDER. In this case, two males. If this bothers you, I would advise you to leave now. On another note, this contains some light non-consensual stuff. Oh, and "whatever" marks someone talking out loud, /whatever/marks Yugi speaking mentally to Yami and //whatever// marks Yami talking mentally to Yugi. Other than that, enjoy the story, and don't forget to review! 

Chapter One: The Eye of the Hurricane

"Yami!" Yugi called out through the kitchen. "Come on! We're going to be late!" Normally Yugi would talk through their mind-link, but he just wasn't in the mood. 

All of a sudden, Yami appeared, having come out of the puzzle earlier that day. He greeted his light with a kiss eagerly met, until Yugi pulled away. 

"We have to go! I promised we would meet Jou and Honda at the arcade in five minutes!"

"I am aware of that fact, little one," Yami replied with a chuckle. "Don't worry. We won't keep them waiting." 

Yugi smiled and practically skipped out the door. Life had just been so wonderful these past few months, especially with Yami being more than just his friend... Yugi paused his train of thought to cast a glance at Yami, who was walking quickly, seeming oblivious to the world. He was dressed in his usual leather getup, similar to that of Yugi. That leather was sexy... Yugi smirked to himself and turned away from Yami, as they were nearing the arcade. 

Yami opened the door, letting Yugi in first. The couple was greeted with the sight of Honda holding Jou in a headlock. 

"I beat you fair and square!" 

"You cheated! You must've!" Jou's argumentative voice protested. 

"You can't cheat at arcade games!" 

Yugi cleared his throat to gain his two friends' attention. 

"Oh! Hey Yug!" said Honda, releasing Jou from his death grip. 

"Do I even want to know what's going on here?" questioned Yugi. 

"Probably not," replied Jou. "Oh, hey Yami, didn't see ya there," he added, nodding his acknowledgement toward the former pharaoh.

"Where's Anzu?" Yami asked. 

"Waitressing," replied Honda. "She's been working a lot lately." 

Yami really couldn't say that he was upset. Ever since Anzu had caught wind of Yugi and Yami's relationship, things between Anzu and Yami had become a little...tense. 

"C'mon, let's go get somethin' ta eat. I always said that eating was my favorite summer pastime, and I'm starving!" 

"You're always starving, pig!" said Honda. 

"Hey! Watch it!" 

"Well it's true!" 

Yugi smiled as his two friends started another one of their fights. Of course, everything would return to normal in a matter of minutes. Yugi caught Yami's eye and smiled at him. Yami took Yugi's hand and intertwined his fingers with those of his light, as the argument between Jou and Honda faded into the background. 

After the quarrel had subsided, the four cheery friends turned to leave the arcade to fulfill Jou's food request, when Ryou stepped out of the building next to them. 

"Hey Ryou!" Yugi called out, catching his friend's attention. Ryou stood there rooted to the spot before breaking into a smile. 

"Hi guys." 

"Ryou! Pal! Where've ya been? I haven't seen ya in ages!" said Jou, throwing his arm around Ryou's shoulders. 

"You saw me last week," Ryou replied, playfully pushing Jou off him. 

"My point exactly," Jou replied, ruffling Ryou's hair. 

"We were just getting something to eat; come with us," said Yugi. 

"Well, I don't know..." 

"Aw, c'mon," said Jou. "It's not like ya have anything better ta do." 

Ryou opened his mouth as if to tell Jou exactly what better thing he had to do, but he seemed to think twice and change his mind. 

"Sure. Why not?" 

"All right!" cheered Jou.

After only a short fifteen minutes, everyone was happily settled down with his food. 

"Ryou, you've been rather quiet," Yami remarked. "Is something wrong?" 

Ryou froze with his food halfway toward his mouth. He thought of commenting on the fact that Yami had been quiet as well, but that would be pointless, considering the fact that Yami never said anything without having a damn good reason to do so. 

"Ryou?" 

Yami's questioning voice brought Ryou down out of his state of reverie. 

"Yes?" 

"I asked you if something was wrong." 

"Oh. Nothing. Nothing's wrong." 

The expression on Yami's face clearly let on that he didn't believe Ryou for a second, but he didn't press the issue any further. 

The rest of the group exchanged a series of looks, but no other words were said, and after a short period of time, it was wiped from everyone's mind. Everyone's mind except for Yami's. 

While Jou and Honda were engaged in a particularly loud conversation that seemed as though it could last for a long time, Yami used the opportunity to start a mind conversation with Yugi. 

//You don't think he's back, do you?// 

/Bakura?/ 

//Yes, him.// 

/Well, I don't know./ 

Yugi glanced over toward his friend who appeared to be staring straight through the wall. 

/I guess it's possible, but we shouldn't assume anything. For all we know, it could be nothing./ 

Yami gave Yugi a hard look before staring pointedly at Ryou, who still hadn't budged. 

/Okay, it isn't nothing, but we don't know what's going on. Just leave it./ 

//I will.// Yugi sighed. //For now. But I'm going to keep a very close eye on him.// 

"Hey! Quit having conversations other people can't hear. It's not polite," Jou cut in. "Hey, what's wrong wit him?" 

Jou was obviously referring to Ryou, who was now shredding his napkin into tiny bits of confetti. 

"Ryou... Ryou! Earth to Ryou!" Honda said, clamping a hand down firmly on Ryou's shoulder. 

Ryou just about jumped a mile before scrambling to regain his composure. 

"Man, what is with you today?" asked Jou. 

"Sorry guys, I'm just kind of tired right now. I'm...I'm going to go home and get some sleep, okay guys?" 

"Whatever ya say, pal," said Jou. "Have a nice rest." 

"Bye," Ryou said quickly before bolting. 

Yami cast a look toward Yugi, who shrugged his shoulders. 

"Well dat was weird," commented Jou. 

"Yeah. Actually, I have to go, too," said Honda. "See you guys later." 

The remaining four all said their good-byes before heading to their respective homes.

~*~

Yami shut the bedroom door and sat down on the bed, which was the first thing he could find. He ran a hand through his hair before feeling the presence of his light sitting next to him.

"Still thinking about Ryou?" Yugi questioned lightly. 

"No," Yami said firmly. "I'm thinking about Bakura." 

Yugi sighed before maneuvering himself to Yami's back and began to firmly massage his shoulders. 

"Don't worry about it," Yugi said simply. 

"I can't just not worry about it. If he's back, it's because he wants revenge on me for sending him to the shadow realm in the first place, and that means he'll be coming after both of us," said Yami, moaning softly when Yugi stopped massaging his shoulders and started trailing kisses along the back of his neck. 

"Yugi...if Bakura's back-" 

"We don't know if he is," Yugi cut in, removing the outermost layer of Yami's clothes. 

"But if he is-" 

"He might not be," Yugi interrupted once again before kissing a trail up Yami's neck. 

"Yugi! This is important!" 

"Even if he is back, there's nothing we can do about it right now." 

Yami started to protest before realizing that Yugi was probably right. Besides, Yugi's kisses and roaming hands were starting to drive Yami past the point of insanity. Yami suddenly whipped Yugi into a passionate kiss before pushing him onto the bed. 

And for the hours that followed, Yami did not think about Bakura.

So, what did you think? Let me know in a review. Next chapter will be up soon! Ta-ta for now!


	2. Change

Taken (2/?)

Yes, I know it's been a while, but even if it takes me forever and a day to update, I always finish stories. I can't stand leaving things unfinished, so just know that. Thank you to all my wonderful reviewers. I appreciate the feedback. Anyway, same as last chapter. This is slash, don't flame me for it. Don't own anything. Probably never will. Don't sue; I don't have anything. Didja get all that? Good. Now. On with chapter two.

Yugi was having a busy day minding his grandfather's shop. Yami was sitting off in a corner arranging new deck strategies. There was a sudden calm in the normally bustling shop, and Yami was taking full advantage of it.

_Now, if I play the mystical elf in combination with my trap..._

"Oh. Hey Ryou." Yugi's voice snapped Yami back into a reality away from the game of duel monsters.

"Hey, Yugi, has my card order come in yet?"

At that instant, Anzu pranced into the store. Yugi smiled politely and said hello to her.

"Hi Yugi! Oh, hey Ryou!" Anzu piped up enthusiastically.

"Anzu," Ryou replied, acknowledging the girl's presence. "So, Yugi, what about my card shipment? Has it come in?"

"Sure has. I'll go and get it; I'll be right back."

"Thanks."

Yugi went off and Yami began to carefully study Ryou. Ryou and Anzu shared some more light conversation. Nothing seemed to be particularly wrong with Ryou, except for the fact that was constantly glancing about, almost as if he expected something...or someone... to jump out at him.

Ryou caught Yami's eye and stared darkly at him. Yami turned back to his cards and pretended to stop paying attention, but he kept a watch on them from the corner of his eye and he kept his ears wide open.

"So, Ryou, what are you..." Anzu trailed off.

While Yami only had a view of the side of Ryou's face, he clearly saw his features harden.

"Hey, Yami," Anzu said, still seeming reluctant to have any sort of conversation with the ancient pharaoh, "Tell Yugi I had to go, and that I'll stop by tomorrow, okay?"

Yami grunted his consent, and Anzu positively fled the shop.

Yami stared suspiciously at who he doubted was the real Ryou, but did nothing. Yugi reentered the room, and there was an almost imperceptible shift of the aura in the room. But Yami noticed.

Yugi handed Ryou his cards. Ryou thanked him politely and exited the shop, mumbling under his breath as he closed the door. This, however, went undetected by Yugi.

"See. I told you nothing was wrong with Ryou. He seemed perfectly normal to me."

"If you call almost literally scaring the crap out of Anzu normal..."

"What do you mean he...hey...where did Anzu go anyway?"

"So you noticed?" Yami said amusedly. "While you were gone, Ryou did something that caused Anzu to react in such a way, but I cannot be entirely sure what."

"Are you sure? Maybe Anzu just suddenly realized that she had something to do and was in a hurry."

"Perhaps. But don't you think she at least would have taken the time to say goodbye to you in person instead of sending the message through me?"

"No. I don't know. Maybe."

"Believe what you will, my light. Bakura may have returned, and he may not have..."

"But..."

"But whether we admit it or not. Ryou has changed."

So, what did you think? Was it good? Please let me know in a review. The more reviews I get the faster I update. Ta-ta for now!


	3. Stolen

            Yugi's grandpa had once again left Yugi in charge of the shop. Nobody knew what he did when he went out. Nobody really wanted to know. Yami had spent all day worrying about Bakura; therefore, Yugi had spent all day worrying about Yami, and he was highly grateful when it was time to close up shop.

            Yugi just wanted to go out somewhere. To get away. Yami wished no such trifle. It took an unprecedented amount of pouting, pleading, and purring into Yami's ear on Yugi's part to convince Yami to go out with him.

            So that was how Yami found himself walking through the park with Yugi, highly annoyed with his lack of willpower against his light. What good would walking through the park do them? It was necessary for them to concentrate on the problem at hand: Bakura. Clearly they needed to come up with a plan to devise whether or not Bakura had returned, and if he had, indeed, returned...

            "What are you thinking about?" Yugi asked, his words cutting through Yami's former train of thought. "Or do I even need to ask? You really need to lighten up you know. I mean, even if Bakura has returned, and he may not have..."

            "If Bakura has returned he will be looking for me and consequently you. It takes a great deal of willpower and strength to escape from where I banished him. He is not ignorant to our relationship. He'd be looking for revenge," the former pharaoh said sharply.

            "I know, but - hey, there's Anzu. We should go talk to her to find out what happened yesterday."

            "I want nothing less than to go talk to that twittering little--"

            "Even if it means finding out about Bakura?" Yugi cut in.

            Yami sighed, stuck in a quandary. He really wanted to find out about what had happened, but he also really didn't want another confrontation with Anzu. She was less than pleased when she found out about just how close Yugi and Yami really were. Still...he wanted to know... Yami was suddenly struck with inspiration.

            "Why don't _you _go talk to her while I wait here?"

            "You're hopeless, Yami," Yugi said with a shake of his head. "All right. I'll go talk to her. Do you want to merge with me so you can hear for yourself?"

            "Do you want Anzu to mysteriously find herself floating around in the shadow realm with no way out?" Yami questioned.

            "Ah...no...not really."

            "Then I'll stay here."

            "Right," Yugi agreed readily. It was true that he wasn't quite as fond of Anzu as he was his other friends, especially after her recent bouts of jealousy, but she was still his friend.

            So Yugi reluctantly parted from Yami and made his way over to Anzu. _Well, this should be an interesting conversation..._

            Yami looked around for a place to sit down until his eyes fell on an old bench. The only problem with said bench, however, was that it put Yami within a 20-yard radius of..._Anzu_. This was a problem. All of the other benches were taken. Yami sighed and walked in the opposite direction to go look for another place to sit.

            The first place to sit Yami came across was very far away from where he was originally. Yami was a bit uneasy; he didn't like to be this far away from his light, but he needed to think. Satisfied with the confidence that their mind link would let Yami know if Yugi was in any danger, Yami took the seat while he could, losing himself in his inner thoughts. Eventually, the noise of the park began to get to him; it seemed that everyone had picked this particular evening to go to the park. It made sense, though; it was a nice evening. Deciding he would rather not deal with the noise, Yami retreated into his soul room.

~*~

            Yugi waved goodbye to Anzu, the entire conversation having been a complete failure. Yugi lacked certain amounts of tact in some areas of life. Maybe flat on asking her without even saying hello wasn't the best idea... Well, even so, Anzu just wasn't talking.

            Yugi cast a glance around the area, looking for his darker half. When he didn't see him immediately, Yugi used their mind link to try and sense Yami's whereabouts. Yugi could hardly sense Yami. _He must be in his soul room._

            Normally Yugi would simply go and find Yami through use of the puzzle, but he was in a crowded park, and he didn't have anybody to watch over him when he left. So, all in all, this just wasn't a good idea.

            Yugi sighed; this meant that he would actually have to find Yami like a normal person who didn't have a special mind link. _This could take a while..._

            But before Yugi could take three steps he felt a hand clamp over his mouth as he was pulled away from the crowds and toward the woods. Yugi tried to bite the hand that was holding him captive but found that it had no effect on this mad person whatsoever. The capturer was successful in preventing Yugi from crying out, and it seemed that the people in the park were oblivious to the struggling young man being forced into the woods.

            Yugi desperately called out to Yami, knowing that even though Yami was in his soul room, if he tried hard enough, Yami would find him. Yugi thought about escaping into the puzzle, but that would mean leaving his lifeless body unprotected in the hands of whoever this lunatic was. Who knew what this person was capable of.

~*~

            Yami was jolted out of his reverie all of a sudden. At first he couldn't pinpoint the reason, but he then sensed his lighter half. Yami couldn't understand any of the thoughts flowing to him, but he did catch the fact that they were bad. _This is not good._

Yami desperately tried to sense the whereabouts of his koi, but it was to no avail. Yami suddenly tensed as he felt his bond with Yugi weaken to the point where he could barely sense him anymore. Yami wasn't sure what had happened, but obviously Yugi was very, very far away. Either that, or someone had taken the puzzle away.

            Yami was so caught up in worrying about his light that he had almost completely forgotten about Bakura. Almost, but not quite. Yami put two and two together and his fears became realized. Yami wasn't positive, but he would stake an awful lot on it.

            _If Bakura does have Yugi, he'll pay. Forget sending him to the shadow realm. I'll kill him. With my bare hands if need be._

            Yami felt a sharp jolt of pain as his bond with Yugi was broken completely. Bakura must have "relieved" Yugi of the Millennium puzzle. But then how was he still here? Yami decided not to ponder on it; there were far more important matters to attend to.

            _Bakura, you will pay..._

            So, what did you think? Let me know in a review. I think the next chapter will be the last one. Hopefully it's coming soon. :-D


	4. Conclusion

Hey everybody! It's been forever since I started this fic, and to be perfectly honest, I (gasp) haven't been keeping up with the Yu-Gi-Oh universe very well. A travesty I know. So, this final chapter continues in the universe of yesteryear. Sorry it took so long, but I said I'd finish it, and I finished it. And, since I made you all wait so long, this chapter is twice as long as the others. So, please enjoy the fourth and final chapter of taken.

-----

Yami was currently filled with more emotions at one time than he could ever remember experiencing. His heart was aching in the absence and endangerment of his light. His eyes were creating lovely red splotches in his vision from him seething with rage at the dark spirit who had stolen his love to seek his vengeance on Yami. Yugi really had nothing to do with Bakura's banishment to the shadow realm; Yugi was completely innocent. Well, maybe not _completely_ innocent...

Yami snapped out of his thought pattern, mortified that while Yugi was in a life-or-death situation Yami himself could have the gall to think happy, sexual thoughts about his koi. Although in self-defense, Yugi had created especially strong memories in his attempts to distract Yami from thoughts of Bakura.

Speaking of Bakura, he, in all likelihood, was holding Yugi captive, and Yami had no idea as to how to reclaim him. He didn't even have the faintest idea as to where to look. The link provided by the puzzle was all but completely cut off. Yugi had to be near the puzzle, otherwise Yami's physical form would be an impossibility, so if Yami could manage to find the puzzle, maybe he could locate Yugi. Yami had no way to communicate with or sense Yugi, but... That was it. Although the millennium puzzle was far from a homing device, surely there was some way Yami could use it to locate Yugi.

But he couldn't go fish through the puzzle in the middle of the park, especially if Bakura still had tabs on the area. In fact, Yami probably should have left the area much sooner, considering that he could have been captured as well. It was a bit careless of him, really.

That left him the question of who he could turn to for help. Anzu's place was closest, but come to think of it, she was probably still in the park somewhere. Yami couldn't afford to waste time searching, and he didn't feel like dealing with her anyway.

"Jou, that's it," Yami thought to himself. "Now let's just hope he's home."

-----

Jou indeed was at his place, but upon hearing that Yugi had been taken, was bombarding Yami with questions, successfully preventing Yami from attempting to locate Yugi. With vital seconds ticking away, Yami finally convinced Jou that only if he allowed Yami to actually locate Yugi could any Bakura butt-kicking occur.

Yami immediately drew himself into the puzzle, where he promptly realized that he really didn't have a plan. He decided that his first move would be to check Yugi's soul room. Maybe it would allow him to communicate with his light.

Yami reached the door to Yugi's soul room, but when he tried to enter the room, he was thrust out of not only the area, but the entire puzzle as well. Shit.

Yami was nearly in a blind panic at this point in time, but heconvinced himself that the proper order was save Yugi now, freak out later. He desperately tried to think of a way to reach Yugi. Yami's thoughts drifted back to the puzzle. He reached a part of his mind toward the puzzle, trying to sense the puzzle's location.

Images suddenly began to unfold before Yami's eyes. He was inside the puzzle, but it was almost as though he were looking through the puzzle. He saw a warehouse, sort of. Varied images were sliding their way into his brain at a pace too fast to keep up with. The effort merely to remain conscious was tremendous. Yami tugged his essence out of the puzzle gasping and nearly fell down.

"Whoa! You okay man?" Jou questioned with more than a hint of panic in his voice.

"I'm...I'm fine," Yami stuttered. "Yugi..."

"Where is Yugi?"

"I'm not sure. Warehouse...gray...biohazard symbols. No grass. Everything...dead," Yami choked out.

"That could be anywhere! Anything else?"

Yami shook his head in an attempt to clear his brain, and aside from the dizzy attack it brought on, it seemed to work. "It was isolated, I think. There were residences near it, but they all seemed empty.

"Hey, I think I know where that is. Were there lots of benches and stuff around it?"

Yami shook his head again. "I think so."

"Then I definitely know where that is. Let's move Yami."

"What?"

"Let's go! Yugi's depending on us!"

"Jou. You cant' go. It's to dangerous. Bakura is-"

"Bakura is in need of a serous ass-kicking, and I am so the right person to give it to him."

"But Jou, shadow magic is dangerously powerful. You can't just throw punches and expect the magic to back down. You can't beat it up and...and...I can't stand the thought of one of Yugi's friends being in danger, too."

"Aw, c'mon, man. First off, we've all seen what that punk Bakura can do. Second, you can't expect me to just stand by while Yugi's in danger. He's my friend."

"But-"

"And thirdly, you have no idea where this place is, and I'm terrible wit directions. You'd just wind up lost somewhere, wandering around cursing my name for making you waste time. Since I don't wanna end up in the shadow realm like Bakura, I guess I just have to go with you."

"Jou...thank you."

"Not a problem. Now let's go kick that punk's ass back to the shadow realm and get Yugi!"

"Yes. Lets."

-----

Yugi was currently tied to a chair with his wrists bound behind his back. His two small legs were also bound to the legs of the chair. He was blindfolded, but remained ungagged. Bakura apparently wanted him to talk at some point. Or scream.

Yugi had stopped panicking minutes ago, upon feeling Yami's attempts to work his way through the puzzle and to Yugi. Yami would come for him; he just knew it. Bakura thought to remove the puzzle from Yugi's neck to prevent him from communicating with Yami, but he had placed it on a table behind him so that with some straining Yugi could barely reach it with the tip of one finger, which was enough to maintain a weak but very real connection.

Yugi, though blind, sensed Bakura as he entered the room. "How are you feeling, little one?" the dark being questioned.

Yugi blanched at the nickname, but refused to say a word to his captor.

"Fine then. I was just hoping that you are fairly comfortable now, as both you and your darker half will soon be in for a long stay in the realm of darkness, not exactly the Westin as it were. I have won."

"You haven't won anything, Bakura," Yugi blurted out. "Yami will come for me. You put the puzzle too close."

"Really? Did I?"

"Yes. You didn't cut him off. You failed. Yami is going to find this place, rescue me, and kill you."

"I do not think so, little one."

"Oh, yes he is."

"No, I do not think that will come to pass," Bakura stated without the slightest hint of concern in his voice.

"Yami _will_ come."

"Oh yes. I know that. In fact, I was counting on it."

-----

Finally, having only had to turn around once, Jou and Yami found themselves in front of an abandoned warehouse that looked almost like those military testing grounds you see in movies. Yami took one quick look around to confirm his surroundings.

"This is it."

"So what's the plan?" Jou questioned.

"Plan?"

"Yeah, plan. 'Cause, we're gonna need one, and I sure don't have a plan."

"Right. Plan. I'll go in from the front; you go in the back. He won't know that we're both coming."

"Good plan."

"Let's do it."

Yami and Jou split up and went their separate routes. Yami was assuming that Yugi would be near the front of the building; he didn't figure Bakura would go to much trouble hiding Yugi if he assumed that the two couldn't communicate. Yami wanted to find Yugi right away, and putting Jou out of harm's way was an added bonus if his assumption was correct.

Yami pulled open the heavy front door as quietly as he could manage and crept inside, trying to be as quiet and invisible as a shadow. He could find Yugi. He _would_ find Yugi. He had to.

-----

Yugi was back to panicking again as Bakura sat in the far corner of the room, legs crossed, eyes watching the door expectantly. Seconds ticked by like hours, until finally the door crept open.

Yami realized immediately that he had found the room when he saw Yugi tied and bound to the chair. He was so worried about his light that he failed to notice Bakura sitting in the opposite corner of the room. He took one stride toward Yugi.

"Yami no! It's a tra-"

Yami was suddenly smacked with a huge wave of power that left him on the floor panting and ready to vomit. He slowly glanced up toward Bakura, who had stood up and wascontinuing tothrow smaller slices of power at Yami that created thin, sharp wounds all over his face.

Even through the onslaught, Yami stood up and tried to throw his own shadow magic back at the son of a bitch. But he couldn't.

Bakura forced Yami back to the floor laughing. "Silly, stupid spirit. You can't defeat me. You have no shadow magic left.

"What do you mean?"

"Yami! Yami it was a trap! He left the puzzle in my reach so I could touch it and you could find me and... I'm sorry!" Yugi cried out.

"It's not your fault, Yugi-"

Yami's words were cut off with more smacks of magic.

"No Yugi; it's not your fault," Bakura said condescendingly to his captive. "It's Yami's fault. He foolishly wasted all of his magic and energy seeking you out."

"Why? Why did you do this Bakura?" Yugi cried out, straining against his bonds furiously with tears streaming down his face even through the blindfold.

"Because I needed Yami to come to me weakened. I wasn't going to chance a fair fight, and draining Yami of all his magic seemed the best way to guarantee my victory and coming to power."

"Very smart Bakura," Yami said after spitting out a mouthful of blood. "But I know something that you don't," he continued, looking past Bakura.

"Oh really? And what might that be?"

"Yugi has more than one friend, bitch," was Jou's response as his fist went flying through the air and slammed into Bakura's face, successfully launching him into the air. Jou immediately threw himself on top of the spirit and began the long process of trying to choke him.

Bakura attempted to launch his power at Jou, but realized quickly that he could not direct his power to harm Jou without harming himself due to the close vicinity, so instead he took to furiously trying to shake the incessant boy off of him.

Jou was getting very frustrated with his choking attempt. It seemed that the spirit didn't have an actual need for air, and Jou wasn't in the proper position to crush his windpipe. Jou looked to Yami for help.

"The pu...puzzle."

Jou looked toward the table and knew what Yami meant, even if he couldn't get the whole sentence out. Jou released his grip on Bakura and threw himself toward the table before Bakura could get the chance to recover and fight back. Jou quickly placed the puzzle around Yugi's neck just in time to feel a breath-stealing wave of power that rocked him backward and to the floor.

The connection between Yami and Yugi was restored, though, and Yami quickly dipped into the puzzle's power. He focused his mind on Bakura, and instead of throwing pieces of power at Bakura, he sent all of his powertoward Bakura at one time.

The entire room seemed to heat up and sizzled with magic for several very long seconds, until Bakura was released from the attack, fell, andslumped to the floor, where his eyes immediately bled from black back to his normal brown. It seemed that Ryou was back.

Jou quickly freed Yugi from his bindings and blindfold, and Yugi took in the sight before him. Ryou and Yami were both lying on the ground bleeding.

Yugi rushed over to Yami. "Yami, Yami are you all right?"

"I'm fine," Yami got out in a calm voice, having made the decision not to tell his lover how truly close he had come to dying. Using all his power at once was very reckless and dangerous, but saving Yugi was worth any price.

"Thank goodness."

"Well, if you two are ready, I think it might be a good idea for us to get the hell out of here. My skin is still crawling and it's giving me the creeps," Jou stated.

Yami chuckled before pulling himself off the ground and into the arms of his light. The three of them helped the nearly-unconscious Ryou to his feet and out of the building. As soon as they were outside they all sat down, each one exhausted from their previous trial.

"Is...is he gone?" Yugi asked Yami with wide eyes.

It was Ryou who answered. "No. No, he's not gone."

"What?" Yami cried out, outraged. "What do you mean he's still here? How is that possible?"

"He put me back in control to let me take most of the hit," Ryou replied. "But it's okay. I'm in control now. I promise."

"Are you absolutely sure?"

"Yes, Yami. Of course I'm sure. When he gave me back control to protect himself he accidentally gave it to me permanently. You don't have to worry."

"You had better be right. Because if you are wrong, I won't be coming after just Bakura."

"Yami!" Yugi cried out. "Don't say that; Ryou is our friend. I believe him."

"It's okay Yugi; I don't blame him after what Bakura did, what hetried to do. I wouldn't believe me either."

"It's not that I don't believe you Ryou. It's just...well..."

"I get it."

Yami nodded. Jou looked around at the bunch, all sprawled out on the ground, before getting up and walking in the opposite direction.

"Where are you going?" Yugi asked.

"I'm gonna go call Honda to give us a ride. Unless the three of you are more up to walking home than I am."

The other three were immediately in mutual agreement. None of the group felt much like moving, let alone walking.

Honda arrived a little while later, wisely saving his numerous questions for thefour until after they had a good, long nap. Each of thegroup fell asleep within seconds of placing their heads on their pillows.

-----

A few days later, the group of five friends were once again happily chatting across a table in the arcade. The five friends were talking and joking animatedly; it was almost as if nothing had happened. Anzu remained blissfully unaware of the whole situation, as her avoidance of Yami had increased vehemently.

The meeting soon broke up though, as Jou was itching to take on Honda again in several arcade games, Ryou was still tired, and Yami had practically been pulling Yugi out the door since they had arrived. The experience had left the two very exhausted, so they hadn't had sex in three days, and the spirit was becoming a little...impatient.

The friends said their goodbyes and went their separate ways. Life was still good, Yugi was still alive, and Bakura was currently under control. Still, none of them would ever forget the day that Yugi was taken.

-----

OMG it's finished! Yahoo! Ah...anyway, I hope you all enjoyed the story, and I would appreciate it if you would take the time to leave me a review. Thanks for sticking with me, and hopefully you'll be reading more of me soon. Bye for now:-D


End file.
